Ian

"Hello, Mister Spector."

"Hi, Lachlan, I was hoping you'd call."

"What can you tell me?"

"Not as much as I'd like, to be honest."

"Tell me anyway."

"Well, I've been round every vet in northern Norda who's licensed to register new dragons, or at least, all the ones I've been able to identify-"

"How many?"

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"Four, one in-"

"Never mind that. Your count matches mine. I take it you found no sign of Soot's registration?"

"None. If he was caught in Norda, he wasn't registered here. And there's another thing, bruv."

"Go on."

"I spoke to a lady at the Guild of Mountaineers who had a theory that Soot and his clutch might've escaped from a Nosa Costra ranch."

"That would explain a lot."

"Yeah."

"So the sequence of events, your thoughts? Phoebe stole the dragon in the winter with help from the Castelloro gang, entered the Imperial League, and now thanks to your mistake the Calabrians know who was responsible?"

"…yeah."

"I'm sorry, I should not have let you run point so long without closer backup."

"Nah, I'm the one that fucked up. Give me a chance to make it right."

"What choice do I have? You have as much of the picture as anyone. We have to find that registration before anyone else does. Get back to Rindburg and wait for my call. I have other assets that may help narrow down where to look for the vet."